Boston Comic Con has grown so much in recent years that it increased from two to three days in length this year. I thought I might be too tired to experience BCC after attending San Diego Comic Con only two weeks earlier, but thankfully this convention offered a less intense atmosphere. More than anything else, the show focused on providing a venue for comics enthusiasts to meet and interact with some of their favorite artists and writers.

Before the convention kicked off, I had already made a list of several creators I wanted to meet and set about tracking them down. To meet current Batman creative team Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, I had to obtain a ticket and wait a few hours. However, to meet most other creators, I only had to wait behind a few people. I’ve started taking a sketchbook to conventions to collect autographs and sketches from favorite creators in one place. Although most artists charge for commissions, it’s always good to ask if they’ll sketch you something. One artist I met, Marcio Takara, current series artist on Captain Marvel, was charging upwards of $100 for professional drawings of characters, but drew a quick sketch in my sketchbook of The Flash’s head for free.

One difference I noticed between Boston and San Diego Comic Con was that more people seemed interested in buying comic books at the Boston show. Eric Porter, a writer selling issues of his self-published comic, Nightshadow, sold nearly all the copies he brought with him. As at any con, fans also browsed booths full of pop culture merchandise. I bought one of the official Boston Comic Con shirts bearing Rocket Raccoon (from the summer blockbuster Guardians of the Galaxy) alongside the BCC logo.

Other attractions included celebrity guests such as Sean Astin, who played the hobbit Samwise Gamgee in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Unlike with the comics professionals, interacting with the celebrities carried an additional charge of $40 for autographs and $60 for photos with them. Many attendees chose instead to take pictures with the multitude of cosplayers roaming the hallways, whose intricate costumes never cease to amaze. Cosplayers did their best to make the experience memorable for fans. I saw a Pikachu cosplayer take on a Deadpool cosplayer in staged combat! My only real disappointment with BCC was that I couldn’t find the Mr. T cosplayer I had taken photos with both of my two previous years at the con. But with everything there was to see, I still left the show floor a happy fan.